Visualizing Data

How does a visualization tell a story?
How does it create meaning or make sense?
How does it focus attention?
How does it provide perspective?

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EXPLORE DATA VISUALIZATIONS Working with a partner, explore and discuss the visualization examples below.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS How does a visualization tell a story? How does it create meaning or make sense? How does it focus attention? How does it provide perspective?

• Mountain Out of Molehills
• Billion Dollar-O-Gram 2009
• When Sea Levels Attack!
• Plenty More Fish in the Sea?
• more

• A Year At War
• Is It Better to Buy or Rent?
• One Report, Diverging Perspectives
• The Geography of Government Benefits
• Mapping the Nation’s Well-Being

• Dencity: What does 7 billion look like?
• The Fortune 500
• Salary vs. Performance in Baseball

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Let the data set change your mindset


WATCH: McCandless on putting data in perspective

• Which country has the biggest military budget?
• Which country has the most soldiers?

Modeling inquiry

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EXPLORE DATA SOURCES AND TOOLS Working with a partner, explore and discuss the data sources and tools below.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS How can data sources and tools like these serve as a springboard for inquiry? What essential questions or big issues are raised by your exploration of a given data source? Does a given visualization help you better understand the data? Does it leave you confused? Why?

• Gapminder World
• World Bank Data Visualizer
• Google Public Data
• Weatherspark
• Newsmap
• Tableau Public
• Many Eyes

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CREATE A VISUALIZATION

• Many Eyes
• Google Chart Tools

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LEARN MORE

• List of visualization tools